Political fingerprints

How is it that LGen Marc Dumais, Commander of Canada Command, recently signed a Civil Assistance Plan with Gen. Gene Renuart, Commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, and I have to learn about it at a pop-culture blog? Yes, it's the most eclectic pop-culture blog you'll ever run across, but still...

“This document is a unique, bilateral military plan to align our respective national military plans to respond quickly to the other nation's requests for military support of civil authorities,” Renuart said. “Unity of effort during bilateral support for civil support operations such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and effects of a terrorist attack, in order to save lives, prevent human suffering and mitigate damage to property, is of the highest importance, and we need to be able to have forces that are flexible and adaptive to support rapid decision-making in a collaborative environment.”

“The signing of this plan is an important symbol of the already strong working relationship between Canada Command and U.S. Northern Command,” Dumais said. “Our commands were created by our respective governments to respond to the defense and security challenges of the twenty-first century, and we both realize that these and other challenges are best met through cooperation between friends.”

No mention at Canada Command.

No mention at DND.

Please tell me my instincts on this are wrong, and that our Conservative government has not caved in to the idea that reasonable cooperation with the United States on such a fundamental security issue is somehow politically unpalatable in Canada, and should be swept quietly under a rug if at all possible. Please tell me they haven't lost all pretense of a spine.

Please tell me that political fingerprints aren't all over the decision to let this announcement go completely unpublicized.